I tagged this as YA because the main characters are sixteen, but other than a short unpleasantness overheard early on, there isn't anything but a single set of kisses to get worked up over.
Nalia (wish that had been a different name, as I got Lion King music in my ears every time I read it) is the sixteen-year-old heir to the throne - until she learns that she's just a random commoner, bought from her father and magicked to resemble the princess. Why? Well, the prophecy that the princess would die young, of course!
Sixteen having sucessfully been reached, Nalia is now revealed as Sinda (much better name), kicked out within the day to her poor relations, and poor Orianne (also a good name) is snatched from the convent where she thought she was a noble's unwanted bastard child, renamed Nalia, and given her new crown. Surprise!
Back in the country, Sinda learns quickly that a princess education does very little to help in common life, and uses an unexpected upsurge of magic as an excuse to head back to the capital where she tries to figure out who she really is, what she's good for, and how to be satisfied with her now very common life.
A plucky (and devoted) friend helps her out, and very quickly they realize that not all is as it should be in the capital, and with the Royal Family. Is Sinda just jealous of what she's lost? Or has she really noticed something truly treasonous in the palace?
This is a good story, but not an amazing one. It suffers slightly from what I think of as "magic girl syndrome" Magic Girl is usually the heroine, but sometimes the sidekick. She suddenly has so much magic that it's a problem, and she can never trust it to work right, except that she ALWAYS trusts it to work in a pinch, and it ALWAYS does! Despite being "unpredictable" and "uncontrollable" and "dangerous," all of the main characters depend on it often, and it always (at least in the important plot-related bits) works the way it's supposed to, or if it goes wrong, it goes wrong in a good way to further their aims. I really really really dislike that. I think it's sloppy writing. If magic is uncontrollable, then let it fail at an important moment, and add some extra conflict to the mix! If the girl is not able to be relied upon in that way, then DON'T RELY ON HER THAT WAY!
Think of it this way: I have pretty good makeup skills, but I can't work makeup that looks good under direct sunlight. So my plan is to have us all sneak past the city guards at high noon, wearing makeup so they won't recognize us! Sounds great, right?
In any rational universe, my friends who know about my problems with makeup should mention at this point all of the sunlight that happens at noon, and how maybe we need a different plan, or perhaps a different time of day. This never happens in The False Princess, and it is a great irritation to me.
That one pet peeve aside, this is a pretty fun (if predictable) middle-ages-style fantasy romp with a slightly snarky heroine in the vein of Alanna or Harimad-sol. Her companions are varied and personable, and the bit characters are also drawn very nicely. I would be interested in seeing a sequel featuring Mika, especially.
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